Targa Tasmania 2008 Day 3 – The Crossing of Fear

Day 3 survived, our fan base of email afficianados world-wide continues to grow, and what a day of danger it was!

An early start, with reveille at 6.30am, standard SS&S, bacon and eggs and fresh coffee cooked by The Nav's new 2nd Mum Vera, load Meschersmitt up, store blankets and other bedding in the house roof with 2nd Dad Tony, agree that we've done some hard work already this morning so its time for a pint of that red, chosen from one of 327 secret locations on the property to confuse the Bright police blood hounds, only to hear an Australo-Slovenian feminine voice pipe up from somewhere in the kitchen "Not in de morrrning!!" Tony and The Nav glumly trudge down to the M3 for 7.55am report time to achieve an on time 8am departure

Minutes pass. Something amiss. More minutes pass......uncertainty and discomfort grows as depart time passes and minute hand hits 15. Finally it dawns. No Skipper!? Then realisation hits The Nav and Dad that the sound of sloshing water isn't the electric pump for the local spring water, but is in fact Skipper still in the shower......

Trudge back up to kitchen, cup of tea with Vera, dishes done, The Nav tapping fingers and toes noting minute hand passing 30........at last on 40 Skipper shows.......then disappears again.......and shows again on 50..….pressing for The Nav to "Get in the Bl**dy car!" Swift "good-byes" to wonderful Vera and Tony....…driving 5 minutes down the road Skipper comments that we're running real late.......then Skip starts veering the M3 towards Tattslotto shop to check tickets and buy some stuff......

The Nav commenting that "We need to just get to the top of the course and faff around there to achieve today’s administrative targets", manages to keep M3 on track for in-laws’ John and Dawn's place, with Skipper sagely commenting that our bright canary yellow car colour is perfect for the current fog bound conditions in Bright this morning, making the car extremely visible......Nav finds he is tempted to comment that actually our car is visible from the moon, but decides to hold his tongue due to the long distance to walk to reach Tasmania

Stage 1 completed

Stage 2 we achieve arrival at John and Dawns (fabulous Mum and Dad of Skipper’s lovely wife Tinks and wonderful sister-in-law Natalie) place in Benalla. Nav then handles the ‘social aspects’ of the visit, enjoying coffee and bikkies with John and Dawn, while Skipper completes his assigned work emails for the morning

Completing this, Skipper, Nav, and John headed off for 9 holes at the Benalla Golf Club. Play was even, with John outright winner on a gross 47, Nav a competitve 2nd on 53, and Skipper achieving a grand score of 60, including 4 eights, a chip in, a magpie, and one thrown club. Interestingly the Targa intra-camp comp now stands at a healthy Nav 2 Skipper 0, with golf matchplay at something like 3 and 2 to Nav

Stage 2 completed

Stage 3 and after a wonderful lunch in the garden with Dawn and John, we bade our farewells, and hit the road to Melbourne

Travelling down the wide 2 lane, 110kmph Hume Highway, trusty Nav took his turn at the wheel of the yellow pocket rocket for an hour or so, losing the drive though back to the Skipper - late on Day 3 - who became extraordinarily agitated when The Nav was passed by a 1989 red 4 door Datsun Sunny, a fully-loaded cattle truck, and a beige Mazda 121 hard top with the sticker 'F1 Superannuant' attached to the rear as a taunt

And so to that wonderful city of Melbourne; gear dropped at friend’s place, back to hotel for left laundry, money, and directions to Tasmania, we managed to locate Nav's friends Rup and Sophie and lovely sons William and Harry (yes really!) for a scrumptious Sunday roast, before heading down to the Port Melbourne ferry pier and then loading the M3

Safely into a cabin in which you had trouble swinging a shoe lace, The Nav and Skipper settled in for the night over a few cold ones (Australian language for ‘beer’. Nav not sure of the linguistic tree re its origination), watching Port Philip Bay and Queenscliffe entrance pass before charging head-long into the wild wild weather of one of the most dangerous stretches of water in the world - the ‘dreaded’ Bass Strait. With horrendous weather forecasted for the crossing - 5 to 10 kilometre per hour winds, a clear night, and 1 metre waves - The Nav quickly identified the life jacket under his bunk, ready for any eventuality on the upcoming ‘Crossing of Fear’

Stage 3 completed and Day 3 Closes. Tomorrow Tasmania. And more tales of danger and closer than close calls !

This is The Nav. Out